Crowning machine



Uct. 14 1924.

v. J; MOHLER CROWNING MACHINE 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed Feb. 23

.hlll +111 Oct.- 14 1924.I 1,511,745

v. J. MOHLER CROWNING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23 1922 j 2 Sheets-Shes'. 3

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Patented Oct. 14, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

VALENTINE J. MOHLER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, `ASSIGrN'OIR TO LIQUID CARBONIO COMPANY, A CORPORATION Ofl ILLINOIS.

CROWNING- MACHINE.

Application filed February 23, 1.922,

T0 all whom t may concern.

Be it lrnown that I, VALnNTrNn J. Morr- Lrin, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crowning Machines, of which the following is a speciication.

The machine to which my invention relates has for its purpose the application to bottles of caps o-r crowns for sealing the same.` The bottles for sealing which my improved machine is used are formeel around the mouth thereof with a small bead and the cap or crown for sealing the bottle consists of a flat circular portion with a short flange or skirt made of fairly stiff sheet metal and provided with a lining washer for effecting anv air tight joint with the mouth of the bottle. The flange or skirt of the cap is. crimped or corrugated longitudinally and outwardly flaring for application. to the hottle so as to permit the bead upon the latter to enter the ila-nge and form a close joint with the washer in the cap. After the cap is applied to the mouth of the bottle the crimped flange is forced inward so that the inner ridges of the corrugations extend under the bead on the month of the bottle and thereby lock the cap to the bottle.

The locking of the cap to the bottle requires considerable pressure and is accomplished by means of machinery, a number of machines having been devised for this purpose. One form of such machine is shown in Patent 47 3,7 7 6 granted to William Painter April Q6, 1892. In this machine, after the cap has been applied to the bottle, it is thrust upwardly into a tapering annular die by which the corrugated flange is forced inward into locking position. In another well known. form of bottle capping machine an annular series of pivoted radially movable fingers is provided which receive the cap and when the latter is in position upon the mouth of the bottle the lingers are driven inwardly against the lower corrugated edge of the cap flange to force it under the bead upon the bottle mouth.

Difficulties have been encountered with bottle capping machines prior to my invention due to the slightest variations in the length or height of bottles of the same commercial size due to slight irregularities in the process of` manufacture thereof. In the Serial No. 533,537.

machines of the prior art it is necessary that the mouth oi the bottle in the crimping p0- sition occupy an exact longitudinal relation to the criniping means. If the bottle happens to be a little longer than the average, unless special provision made for such irregularities, it is crushed when the bottle seat and the capping head come tothe sealing position or the cap sticlrs in the sealing head, in either event requiring either the stopping of the machine. or at least the intervention of the operator. Efforts have been made to overcome the difficulty by providing springs intermediate the capping head or the bottle seat and its support but this has not proved entirely successful as the springs must be made strong in order to properly effeet the locking of the crowns that they fre quently break the bottles.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a capping or crowning head which will satimfactorily` apply crowns or caps irrespective of irregularities and variations in the height of bottles without risk of breaking the same and which is simple and eihcient requiring but little attention upon the part of the operator. My present invention relates to the crowning head per se and may be used in connection with any of the well linown forms of bottle capping machines irrespective of their other features provided only that they are adapted to present the bottles to be capped with the caps applied thereto to the crowning heads and move the bottles and the respective crowning heads axially into sealing position. In the accompanying drawing forming part of this application I have shown a preferred form of the invention as. applied to a rotary bottle capping machine, having a number of crowning heads which are vertically movable into their operative relation with bottles resting upon seats provided beneath the respective heads; it is to be understood, however, that the specific disclosure is for the purpose of exempliiication only and the scope of the invention is defined in the following` claims in which I have endeavored to distinguish it from the prior art so far as known to me without, however, relinquishing or abancloning any portion or fea-ture thereof.

In the drawing Fig. l represents in side elevation partly in section a bottle capping machine of the rotary multiple type to which my invention has been applied, Fig. 2,

a vertical axial section partly in elevation and on an enlarged scale of a preferred form of my invention, Fig. 3, a horizontal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 is a perspective vof Ia detail.

Referring to Fig. 1 in which I have illustrated my invention as applied to a machine of the rotary type it will be seen that the machine comprises a stationary framework 5 in which is revolubly mounted and driven, a shaft 6 which carries two or more crowning heads 7 and a bottle carrier 8 having .seats 9 in registry with the respective crowning heads. The shaft may be Adriven in any obvious manner and .is provided with a sleeve 10 bolted thereto and having cross-heads l1, j 12 having guide openings in which the respective crowning heads reciprocate toward and from the bottle seats. Reciprocation of the .crowning heads is effected by means of ya cam guide 13 upon a stationary sleeve 14, the upper ends of the crowning Yheads being provided with rollers 15 running in said cam guide. The sleeve 14 is bolted to an upper frame member 16. Said upper frame member and a lower frame member 17 are connected together by an intermediate housing wall 18 aud are formed with bosses 19, 20 respectively'` .sliding upon two vertical rods 21 (of which only one is shown in t-he drawing). The rods 21 :are mounted in bosses 22, 23 on the upright 24. The frame or housing including the members 16, 17, 18 is adjustable upon the rods 21 to accommodate bottles of different sizes, the adjustment being effected by means of a rack 25 on the housing and a pinion 26. lvhen adjusted the housing is locked to the rods by an ordinary cramping device 27 in boss 20. It will be tuiderstood that in order to permit this adjustment the rotary shaft 6 is keyed to the pinion by which it is driven so that it is raised and lowered with the housing when the latter is adjusted as vabove described. .l have shown the machine as provided with a hopper '27 for feeding crowns to the bottles which Imay be of any suitable form or be dispensed with altogether as the crowns may be fed to Athe bottles by hand or otherwise.

It will be understood that as the vshaft revolves, carrying with it the table support and crowning .heads .the latter reciprocate,

sists in providing a circular die into or .through which the mouth of the bottle with the-'crown V.applied thereto is forced 'during th'e sealing operation, thus pressing the crimped or corrugated flange of the cap against and under the bead on the mouth of the bottle, which die after the sealing operation has been completed, readily yields -or Vspreads to permit the withdrawal of the capped bottle. For this purpose the die is formed of a number of sections separated from each other on radial planes and means is provided whereby the sections are held in an inner position to constitute in effect al rigid circular die during the sealing operation and permitted to spread immediately thereafter.

In the preferred form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it will be seen that the die is composed of a number of radially movable sections v28 each formed with a knucklel or bearing portion k29 by which i-t is so supported as to have a limited swinging movement in a :plane radial to the die. The lower limbs of the Adie forming sections are formed on their inner faces with projecting portions 30 which together constitute the constricted portions of the die which is of such diameter when inthe closed position shown in Fig. 2 as to permit the passage therethrough of the bottle head with the crown thereon when the flange of the latter is pressed into locking position. The lower' end of each section is chamfered at 31 so that the circular series of sections provide a llared guiding opening to the die passage.

The crowning head comprises a plunger member 32 the upper end of which carries the ant-ifriction roller to which reference has been made and the lower end of which is hollow, reduced and screw threaded at for attachment to the sleeve 34.

The upper end of the latter is threaded to receive the reduced end of the plunger and the lower end which is of somewhat larger diameter as at 35 is exteriorly threaded as at 36 to receive the die carrying head 37. The latter supports the pivoted die `sections being formed for this purpose with a rabbet 38, which is arcuate in crosssection to receive and tit the knuckles of the respective die sections. A bearing ring 39 having a similar rabbet rests upon a shoulder 40 of head 37 'and completes the bearing for the knuckles of the die section. Beneath the curved groove or rabbet 38 the opening in the die supporting head is flared at 41 to permitthe die sections vto swing outward. to the dotted line position rshown in Fig. 2. For 'convenience 'in assembling the die sections are pivotally mounted upon a split ring 42. The .upper ends 43 ofthe die sections extend into an annular recess I* 44 in the lower 'end 'of sleeve '34 the recess being of su'ilcient diameter to `permit the necessary swinging movement of .the vsections refe'rr'edto hereinafter. i

The internal diameter of sleeve 34 is 1`-.e-

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duced at 45 near the lower end thereof to form a bearing for the longitudinally movable locking sleeve 46, the lower end ot' which is tapered as at 47 and of such diameter as to extend between the bearing faces 4S of the upper ends of the die sections when the latter are swung to the die forming position shown in Fig. 2 and firmly lock the sections in such position. The downward movement or" the locking sleeve is limited by the engagement of the shoulder 48 formed on the upper end thereof with shoulder 49 on the main sleeve 34. The locking sleeve is shifted by a plunger 50 fitting and extending through the bore thereof and formed or provided at its lower end with an enlarged head 5l for engaging the cap or crown upon the bottle to be sealed. The plunger is also provided or formed with a collar 52 which normally rests upon the upper end of the locking sleeve 46 being yieldably held in engagement therewith by a spring 53 intermediate said collar andthe lower reduced end 33 of plunger 32. Oil channels 54 and oil openings 55 are provided for lubricating the bearing in which the knuckles of the dieforming sections are supported.

The operation of the crowning head will now be apparent. A bottle being placed on the corresponding seat and provided with a sealing crown the rotation ot the machine causes the crowning head to descend. The plunger 50 first comes in contact with the sealing crown on the bottle and as the head continues to descend retreats into the head under the pressure of the capped bottle. The locking sleeve 46 remains seated in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 thus maintaining the die in the closed or contracted full line position. The cap or crown is forced through or well into the die opening which wipes or presses the corrugated flange of the crown against and beneath the bead upon the mouth of the bottle. The further descent of the crowning head `forces the bottle and the plunger 50` further into the throat until the upper end of head 5l engages the lower end of the locking sleeve 46 driving the latter upwardly from its seat until its lower end is sutliciently above the die sections to permit the upper ends ot the latter to swing inwardly. This permits the members to swing to the dotted line position in Fig. 2 in which the cap and bottle are fully relieved and as the crowning head rises it readily leaves the bottle and crown. This completes the sealing action and the bottle is then ready to be ren moved from the machine. As the crowning head rises releasing the pressure of the bottle on thev plunger 50 the lat-ter returns to its lowermost position restoring the locking sleeve 46 to its seat.

It will now be apparent that with my improved crownin head any usual or possible variations in the height of bottles due to irregularity ol manufacture are immaterial, the taller bottle simply driving the crown a little iturther into or through the die opening` than the shorter bottle. There can be no sticking or catching of the bott-les in the crowning head because when the die sections are unlocked by the retreat of sleeve 4G they are tree to swing outward to relieve any pressure upon the crown.

As heretofore stated my improved crowning head is applicable to bottle capping machines generally for securing crown caps to bottles in which mechanism is provided for pressing the crowned bottle upwardly into the die of the crowning head.

I claiml. In a device of the class described, a sectional die comprising a plurality of radially movable members, rigid means tor locking said members inwardly in die-forming position and adapted to release the members to permit. them to move outwardly and a spring lionnormally holding said means in locking` position.

2. In a device ot.' the class described, a sec-- tional die comprising a plurality of radially movable members, means for locking said members iu their innermost position, said means movable axially ot the die to permit said members to recede from their innermost position and a spring :tor normally holding said means in locking position.

In a device of thc class described, a sectional die comprising a plurality ot independently radially movable members, a plunger movable axially of said die by en-4 gagen'lent with a bottle to be crowned, and means movable into and out ot operative position by said plunger' ttor alternately rigidly locking said die members in dietorming position and releasing the same.

4. In a device of the class described, a support, an annular series oit dieeforming members pivotall;7 mounted in said support, means movable axially of the die for normally rigidly locking said members in die- Jforming position and a spring normally holding said means in locking position.

5. In a device of the class described, a support, an annular series of die-forming mem bers pivoted in said support 'for radial swinging into and out of die-'forming position, a plunger adapted to engage and be operated by the cap of a bottle to be sealed, and means for rigidly locking the die-forming members in die-forming position operable by the movement of said plunger to release the members.

6. In a device of the class described, a hollow support, an annular series of pivoted die-forming members mounted on said support, a plunger movable axially of said support and die adapted to be engaged and TFO moved by the cap of a bottle to be sealed, and a sleeve movable longitudinally of said plunger and of said support normally engaging and rigidly locking said die-forming members iii die-forming position and operated by the plunger to release said die-'forming members.

7. In a device of the class described, a support, an annular series ot die-forming inembers pivoted on said support and swinging in radial planes, said members having arms extending in opposite directions from their pivots, the arms ot said members below their pivots forming when in inner position a die and having a cylindrical surface, means movable axially of the die to engage the upper end of said die-forming members and lock them in die-forming position.

8. In a device ot the class described, a support, an annular series of die-forming levers pivoted on said support intermediate their ends and swinging in a radial plane, the lower ends ot said levers being shaped and arranged when in their innermost position to torni a circular die, a sleeve engaging the upper ends of said levers to lock the latter in die-'forming position, and a plunger on which said sleeve is mounted adapted and arranged to be engaged by the cap of a bottle to be sealed and to be raised thereby, and means on the plunger to engage said sleeve when raised and move the sleeve out ot lever engaging position.

9. In a machine tor crowning bottles, a sectional die composed ot radially movable sections, means normally locking the section in inner die-forming position, means movable axially ol the die by Contact with a bottle tor shitting the locking means to iinlocl ing position.

l0. In a bottle crowning machine, a die composed ot' radially movable sections, means normally locking ther sections in their inner die-forming position, means for torcing a bottle with a crown thereon into the die and nieans operated by the crowned bottle for shifting the locking means into unlocking position.

ll. In a bottle capping machine, a die composed of pivoted radially movable sections, an annular support tor said sections,

a plunger extending through the die and adapted to engage a bottle to be capped and to be moved thereby and means normally locking the sections in inner, die-forming position adapted to be engaged by said plunger and shifted to unlocking position.

l2. In a bottle crowning machine, a sectional Vdie comprising a plurality of sections pivoted to swing in planes radial to said die,V`

tions pivoted in said head and swinging in4A` radial planes, an axially movable sleeve concentric with the die having a cylindrical surface adapted when the sleeve is in lowered position to engage the die sections and lock them in die-forming position,

and means adapted to be engaged by a bottle and to engage the lower end of said sleeve to move the latter into releasing position.

VALENTINE J. Monnaie. 

